“Open government” in Minnesota involves the establishment of a new and active partnership between taxpayers and local government officials in setting spending priorities and budgeting for them. It is founded on a shared commitment to find better and more cost-efficient solutions to the delivery of public services.
The goal of “Open Government Minnesota” is to provide access to all data needed to create and support the development of a more open and vigorous public discussion surrounding the restructuring of local government, with the goal of delivering public services more effectively, efficiently, and at a lower cost to property taxpayers.
Opengovernmentmn.com has been established as an online resource and central repository of research, news and other information useful in informing Minnesota taxpayers and encouraging public debate and involvement.
OPEN GOVERNMENT MINNESOTA
Government Employees
Local Government
Q. What does greater transparency in government spending have to do with property taxes?
A. Everything!
It's time to unveil the drivers behind the rising cost of public services and the demand for increasing local tax revenues.
Transparency Proposal Press Release, Initiative to Spur Greater Transparency in Local Government Spending Launched by NAIOP Minnesota
Ultimately local government spending drives property tax levies and, in turn, property taxpayers’ bills. This is the most influential piece of the property tax system. It is also the most important and—in many ways—the most challenging element for taxpayers to understand.
Open Government in Minnesota Report
An agenda to support greater transparency and taxpayer participation in local budgeting processes.
This report examines issues impacting the ability of property taxpayers to make informed judgments about local spending and the use of their property tax dollars. It identifies three requirements for taxpayers to be able to prudently understand the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their government's operations.
Read the full 16 page report, including the requirements, the issues relevant to those requirements along with the recommendations for improving taxpayers' understanding of proposed property tax changes.
Object Code Financial Reporting
To complement spending information by program, we propose that object code information be added.
An object code-based budget presentation would:
- Highlight cost drivers and trends
- Connect cost drivers to property tax changes
- Enable taxpayers to easily:
- Identify critical issues
- Ask questions with confidence
- Better understand the financial challenges confronting local elected officials
